The comments came out as US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov held tense talks following an alleged Syrian chemical attack and subsequent missile strike by Washington.
The United States said the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad was behind the gas attack, while Syria and its ally Russian Federation claimed the gas came from a rebel factory producing chemical weapons. "No", Trump said. But, he added, "I see them using gas. we have to do something".
LIASSON: What we know is as the meeting began, Tillerson said he wanted to clear up some sharp differences with Russian Federation.
Lavrov also stated that Russian Federation has lots of questions about the "ambiguous" and "contradictory" ideas coming from the USA administration, according to the Associated Press.
Tillerson, on a mission to persuade Russian Federation to abandon Assad, issued an ultimatum to Putin before flying to Moscow: Either side with the USA and likeminded countries, or with Assad, Iran and the militant group Hezbollah.
In an interview, Russian President Vladimir Putin said relations with the United States have become eroded.
On the eve of the meeting, far from trying to calm tempers, both sides escalated their rhetoric. The White House has accused Russian Federation of trying to "cover up" Assad's role in the attack.
President Donald Trump is appearing to rule out deeper American military intervention in Syria beyond retaliatory strikes if Syrian President Bashar Assad continues his assault on civilians with chemical weapons.
GREENE: One big question with this Syrian airstrike that President Trump ordered was whether this was a one-time action, I mean, in response to what it appeared was a chemical attack by the Syrian government or whether this is really US policy evolving.
Mr Putin has angrily rejected the accusations against Damascus and slammed the United States bombing as "a violation of global law".
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Moscow's comments appeared to reflect a sharp change from previous year, when Putin hailed Trump as a strong figure and Russian state television was consistently full of effusive praise for him.
The White House compared Assad's tactics to those of World War II Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, sparking widespread criticism for apparently ignoring the Holocaust.
Putin pushed back, saying the deadly chemical weapons blast may have been a "provocation" staged to increase global pressure on Assad. Dozens of Tomahawk cruise missiles struck the Shayrat air base early morning in Homs.
But Russia's deputy ambassador to the UN, Vladimir Safronkov, said he was "amazed at this conclusion".
Turkey has also claimed to have found evidence of sarin gas use after testing the bodies of the victims.
The former oil executive might once have looked like the flawless envoy to mend strained ties, having worked closely with the Kremlin while negotiating deals for energy giant ExxonMobil.
But the underlying tensions in the relationship never went away and last week's chemical attack infuriated Trump.
That candid assessment by U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson reflected the former Cold War foes' inability to forge greater cooperation, as President Donald Trump until recently has advocated.
Those who put faith then in the hope that Moscow would come around - or who may now be thinking that is the way forward - overlook the depth of Russia's perceived self-interest in keeping Assad in power.
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